Chapter Forty-Six

Dominic Ryan

It's been a year and a half since Chris and I got married and since then, Addison and Ryan also got married. They had a small wedding on the beach and it was perfect for them. It was tons of fun and Chris and I couldn't be happier for them. Today, Addison and Ryan were coming over. Addison was eight and a half months pregnant and she could pop any day. She and Ryan got pregnant not too long after their wedding. Chris and I had talked about having children, but we didn't know if we were ready yet. I mean, I was only twenty-one when we got married. But, marriage has matured me and I think I'm beginning to warm up to the idea of having a family sometime soon. I'm still young, at twenty-three, but at least I'll have a husband to help raise a baby.

"Pregnant lady comin' through!" Addison yelled as she and Ryan walked through the door.

Ryan was trailing behind her carrying a duffel bag that had things in it in case Addison went into labor.

"Hey love" I said hugging Addie "how are you?"

"I'm good" she said tiredly "I haven't been able to sleep lately"

"Well that does come with being almost nine months pregnant. How's my little boy doing?" I asked rubbing her swollen stomach.

"He's very energetic" she rubbed her belly "likes to keep mummy up at night don't you?"

I laughed "hey babe" I greeted Ryan kissing his cheek "need help carrying?"

"This is why you're great"

I took the duffel bag from his hands "oh my gosh what's in this?"

"All the essentials. Makeup, razor, shampoo, conditioner, hairspray, blowdryer, mousse, clothes of course-"

"Where are you going? Into labor or Europe for a month?"

"Ha. Ha. Very funny" she said sarcastically.

"Chris honey, hurry up! Ryan needs to get out of here!" I called.

"Ouch" Ryan said placing a hand over his heart

"I'm coming!" Chris said walking down the stairs funbling with the buttons of his shirt.

"C'mere" I said waving him over.

He dropped his hands from the shirt in defeat. I grabbed his shirt and began doing up the buttons.

"There. All done" I said patting his chest.

"You're a life saver" he said kissing me. He grabbed his golf clubs and headed to the car with Ryan.

"Bye honey! Bye babe!" I smiled.

"Bye darlin!"

"Bye babe!"

"Bye Addison I loooove youuu!" Ryan called.

"Bye Ryan!" She chuckled.

Addison and I plopped on the couch and turned on the TV. She couldn't do much considering how far along she was. Plus, Ryan was watching her like a hawk. He made sure he knew everything she was doing at every moment of every day. Today you could say, was her day of freedom.

We had already watched three episodes of Pretty Little Liars; much to my dismay. It was Addison's favourite show and since she was pregnant and hormonal, I didn't want to argue with her.

"Alright, I gotta pee" she slowly stood from the couch.

"Ad, you went literally forty-five minutes ago"

"Trust me, I know" she said sarcastically.

About two minutes later, I heard a scream from the hallway. I jumped up from the couch so fast, I didn't even remember getting up.

"Addison??!! What's wrong?!?!" I yelled running for the hall.

"I think...my water just broke"

"Aw crap" I said grabbing her duffel bag and slowly moving her toward the door. I grabbed my keys and led her to my car. I helped her into the passenger seat and threw the bag in the back seat.

"Let's go have a baby" I smiled at Addison rubbing her shoulder reassuringly. She weakly smiled back at me, fear evident on her face.

"You're gonna be fine. And just think, by the end of this, you'll have a gorgeous baby boy for me to spoil"

She smiled "Thanks hun"

"No problem" I said pulling out of the driveway. I yanked my phone from my pocket and dialed Chris.

"Hey Nicki what's up?"

"Addison went into labor"

"Damn it. Now?"

"Yeah. We're driving to the hospital now. Meet us there in like, twenty"

"Alright. I love you"

"Love you too. I'll see you soon"

"Okay, bye"

We arrived at the hospital in ten minutes and I brought Addison into the emergency entrance to check in.

"My sister has gone into labor" I said.

"What's her name?"

"Addison Baxter" I've never actually used her new name before.

"Alright we'll get her a room right away"

"Thank you so much"

They put Addison into a wheelchair and wheeled her into the delivery section of the hospital. I followed closely carrying her bag and walked into the room behind her. She was fitted for a hospital gown and hooked up to a few machines to check the baby's heartrate etc.

"Ugh these gowns are awful" she said tugging at the material.

"C'mon Ad. You look amazing" I said sitting down in the chair beside the bed. She really did look amazing while she was pregnant.

"Where's my baby?" Ryan said bursting into the room like a crazed maniac. Me being the smart person I am, snapped a picture with my phone, knowing that would come in handy some day.

"He hasn't been born yet" Addison laughed. Her contractions were four minutes apart. They say that when they reach less than two minutes apart, you could have the baby any time.

"Thank god, but I did mean you" he said sitting next to her and kissing her forehead.

"Hey baby sis" Chris said walking into the room "hi darlin" he kissed my cheek.

"Hi honey" I stood up to go and get a bottle of water from the vending machine down the hall. "Anybody want anything from the vending machine while I'm there?"

"Some Cracker Jacks would be awesome" Addison smiled at me.

"Absolutely" I smiled. Her cravings were so weird lately.

"I love you so much" she breathed, another contraction making its appearance. She cringed and tried to breathe through it.

"Just breathe honey" I smiled as I headed for the vending machine. I returned minutes later with my water and her Cracker Jacks. I also grabbed a Coke for Chris and a Red Bull for Ryan.

"Oh my god we have telepathy" Ryan said taking the can from me. He took Addie's Cracker Jacks and handed them to her. She dug in right away, crunching down on a piece of popcorn as another contraction set in.

I handed Chris his Coke which he happily took from me. Ryan started drinking his Red Bull.

"Hey babe"

"Hm" he said.

"You may want to save some of that for later, I think you'll be needing it more then than you do now" I chuckled.

"Yup. Telepathy" he laughed setting the can down.

Poor Addison's contractions were only seconds apart. This baby really wanted out.

The OBGYN came into the room not a minute later. I think his name was Dr. Martin.

"Okay Mrs. Baxter let's check up on you" he said "I think you're ready to push. But only your husband is allowed to stay in the room. Sorry guys" he gave us a weak smile. Chris and I wished Addison good luck and headed outside the room.

Chris was a wreck.

"Hey, what's up?"

"What if something happens?"

"Nothing will. I promise"

I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and brought him close to me. I pulled my knees up and he laid his head in my lap. I played with his hair as I tried to get him to breathe.

Dr. Martin came out of the room moments later.

"Is she okay?" Chris asked abruptly standing up.

"Yes she is completely fine and so is the baby"

"Thank god" Chris breathed.

"Thanks so much Doctor" I said.

"It was no problem"

Chris and I happily trotted into the room; excited to meet our nephew. Addison was half-asleep and Ryan was holding the baby boy like a smiling idiot. I walke over to Addison and sat next to her. I moved the hair off of her sweaty forehead and took her hand.

"Great job mama" I laughed "now get some sleep"

Almost immediately after I said that, she crashed. I turned around to see a very happy Chris holding his nephew. I quickly took a picture.

"Who is this?" I asked as I walked over towards the boys.

"Dominic Ryan Baxter" Chris smiled handing him to me. I took the tiny boy in my arms, cradling him gently.

"Aw! After his daddy!!" I squealed.

"Hi Dominic!" I whispered "I'm your Auntie Nicole. You're such a cutie aren't you?" I said slowly bouncing him while I walked around the room. Surprisingly, he was wide awake. He got Addie's eyes, that's for sure. His bright blue eyes stared back up at me, full of wonder. He was the most adorable thing ever.

Chris walked up behind me and slung his arms around my waist. He swayed me back and forth as I held little Dominic.

"The only thing that would make this more perfect, is if little Dom was ours" he whispered in my ear.

I lightly chuckled. He was kinda right though. I already loved the little boy and now, I was exstatic to have kids of my own someday.

"I love you" he whispered.

"Mhm I know you do" I said kissing Dom's little nose.

Chris and I left the hospital after we let Addison and Ryan sleep for three or so hours and we got a lot of Dominic time. Chris held my hand the entire ride home; something he has made a habit of. Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely not complaining. It was nice knowing that the love of my life enjoys the little things as much as I do. The sun was just beginning to set so Chris and I decided to take Jas down to the beach again.

We were walking down to the beach hand-in-hand while Chris carried Jas's leash just in case he needed it, but Jasper was fully trained and might I add, fully grown by now so we never really needed to use the leash anymore.

Chris found a stick lying in the sand and picked it up; rinsing it in the water. He tossed it into the ocean and let Jas chase it. He found much more joy in the water than he did in the stick so he stayed in and splashed around. Chris wrapped an arm around my shoulders pulling me into his chest. I wrapped my arms around his torso and listened to the sound of his heart beating.

"Hey Nicole"

"Mhm" I responded looking up at him.

"You're my best friend and my rock. You've been with me through so much and anyone else would have left me on the spot. I am so grateful for you and I love you with everything inside of me. You make me want to be a better man everyday and I couldn't imagine waking up next to anyone else. I love you to the moon and back and I will everyday of my life until the day I die and beyond" he smiled.

A wide grin made its way onto my face. His wedding vows.

"Chris, the first day we met, you dumped a giant bucket of freezing cold water on me, and for some reason, I went on a date with you the next day. We kissed on the ferris wheel and I fell completely in love with you. You were there for me when I had next to no one, even if our only means of communication were letters, and you came all the way from Afghanistan to be right beside me when mum died. She loved you like her own and that couldn't have made me happier. You're my world and without you, I would have next to no one. I came with so much baggage and instead of letting me carrying it alone, you took it from my hands and walked along with me. I'm more than excited to wake up next to you every morning and to be with you for the rest of my life. I promise to love you with everything I have in me until the day I die and beyond" I recited my vows from memory.

"I love you so much" I said.

"And I love you...so much more" he lifted me off the ground and spun me, kissing me passionately. He set me down and threw me over his shoulder, running into the water; chasing after Jasper.

I found my happily ever after...correction:

I found my

The End!!!!

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Aw......Addie and Ryan had a baby!!! Little Dominic is the cutest!! Pic of him above!!

I'm sad to say that this is going to be the last chapter :( :( But there will be two epilogues and an alternate ending so this isn't the end of Chris and Nicole or anybody for that matter.

I really liked how I ended it but if you didn't, I will have two or three epilogues written and an alternate ending so even though this is the end, it isn't the end.

Keep commenting and voting!!

Happy reading!

Eagle_Eye_13 xx